Arabian Courtyard Hotel Reviews

This being our first visit to Dubai, we were really pleased with this hotel - it's only been open a couple of years but had the feel of a well established place.

Very efficient check-in, arrived at 10am and didn't have to wait until 2pm to get our room (standard pool view)and a welcome cocktail straight away! The pool is v small but adequate for cooling off, and never busy. Loungers are comfy and your towels are even provided for by the gym staff. Gym is very well equipped. Breakfast choice was immense with your very own chef to prepare omlettes with whatever you fancied. The tex-mex restaurant was good value for money too, but didn't hear such good reviews about the hotels Indian restaurant. Staff were always really helpful. Would not recommend the free 10 minute massage each guest gets as the masseur was rough and we were sore for days!

The room was always cleaned well and air conditioning was a godsend - sometimes needed to go out just to warm up a bit! The bed was amazing - 6'6";x6'6"; and so comfy. Got complementary cake delivered to our room some nights - very nice gesture. Taxis were cheap and hotel staff hailed them for you. The drivers all knew how to get you back to the hotel which was a bonus. The hotel is in the old part of the city and great as a base for sightseeing. There was some building work going on next to the hotel but it didn't affect the holiday. Not allowed to play cards in public though. I only felt comfortable wearing shorts to the beach and Ian was refused entry into some restaurants for not wearing full length trousers so, men, be warned.

You do have to do your homework and search out all the good restaurants and bars but there was plenty of information in the hotel to do this. Must things to do are the Burj Al Arab afternoon tea, lunch at the Lime Tree Cafe, an abra trip across the creek and a drink at Vu's bar on the 51st floor of the Emirate Towers (not all at once mind!) Drinks were v expensive - £9 for 2 pints of guiness! Watch out for festivals where no alcohol is served for 24hours.

We would definately go back to this hotel, but 14 nights was too long and next time would go in the winter when it's a bit cooler and not so humid.

We took a short break to Dubai and we think it is a fantastic place. Although we knew it was going to be hot we didnt realise how hot 45- 50 degrees during the day and 35+ at night time. We went for a walk on the first day that we arrived and it lasted about 10 mins as we were so hot and soaking wet! Taxis are very cheap and air conditioned so that is what we done for the rest of our stay.

The shopping centres are fantastic and also had entertainment laid on for children the best one was the city shopping centre which was huge. We visited Karama Shopping Complex and got some good deals at the Green Eye Shop, do be prepared for the shop workers to bombard you and make sure you bargain with them. There are some fab buildings and the beach looks great (it was too hot for us to sit on). We done a jeep dune safari and that was a fantastic experience just like being on a rollercoaster, afterwards camel rides and a meal with belly dancers to entertain. The big bus tour was quite good too but again very hot and quite windy on the top deck of the bus. We went to the gold souk and would like to warn people to be very careful if you decide to wander up the streets from the gold souk as it is like a rabbit warren and very hard to get your bearings.

The hotel was very clean, the rooms fantastic with a huge bed, tv, kettle, mini bar and fantastic bathroom. The Sherlock Holmes pub situated within the hotel was a very welcoming place for a drink and meal and prices were very good.
The swimming pool is very nice, clean, and there was always plenty of sunbeds. The staff are eager to help make your stay as enjoyable as possible. The food served in the restaurants was a good selection and very enjoyable. All in all the place is fantastic, next time we will go during winter where the temp is usually around 35 degrees.